NORMAN, Okla. — The University of Oklahoma Track and Field program is gearing up to host its first home meet of the 2011 indoor season, Saturday’s 11th annual J.D. Martin Invitational. The event, slated to begin at 10 a.m. inside the Mosier Indoor Facility, is open to the public with free admission. Field events begin at 10 a.m. while running events start at 12:30 p.m.

Oklahoma’s sprinters, jumpers and throwers will be in action at the meet while a small group of OU men’s distance athletes travel to Bloomington, Ind., for the Gladstein Invitational.

Saturday’s J.D. Martin Invitational will feature six defending champions, three of which compete for Oklahoma. Scottesha Miller (60-meter dash), Karen Shump (shot put) and Mookie Salaam (60-meter dash) all won titles at the 2009 event before the 2010 edition was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Saturday will mark the season debut for Shump who entered the season with the No. 1 national shot put ranking according to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Joining Shump, the 2010 Big 12 shot put champion, in her season debut will be Tia Brooks, who is ranked No. 7 in the event by the USTFCCCA. The two will face stiff competition in SMU’s Simone du Toit who has the nation’s second-longest throw so far this season.

Accepted Entries

Also making his 2011 debut in the throws ring is weight thrower K.P. Singh. The 2010 Big 12 champion in the event, Singh enters the season ranked sixth nationally.

Salaam will compete in the 60-meter dash for the first time this season, an event he is ranked No. 13 in, as will Miller who enters the weekend ranked No. 9 in the short sprint. Ranked No. 11 in the 60-meter hurdles, Latoya Greaves makes her 2011 season debut in the event and will face No. 17 Alysha Adams of North Texas.

While there will be action inside the Mosier on Saturday, a group of seven OU men’s distance athletes will be competing in the Gladstein Invitational in Bloomington, Ind., on Friday night. Four of the men will compete in the mile while three others are in the 3,000-meter run. Eric Harasyn leads the mile group, entering the meet ranked No. 14 in the nation in the event. Cross country All-American Kevin Schwab will lead the 3K group as he enters the season ranked No. 33 nationally in the event.

Sooner Sports Powered by FOX Sports is a multi-platform network that provides distribution of 1,000+ hours of Sooner sports programming annually on a variety of FOX Sports outlets, including FOX Sports Oklahoma, FOX Sports Southwest, and FOX College Sports. Additionally, the partnership between the University of Oklahoma and FOX Sports includes a comprehensive digital component featuring extensive "all-access" content not televised on FOX Sports networks including live streaming, archived games, and exclusive materials.

OU inspires champions today and prepares leaders for tomorrow by enabling its student-athletes to achieve their highest academic, athletic and personal aspirations. The OU Athletics Department sponsors 21 varsity sports with more than 600 student-athletes and is completely self-supporting.

Sooner Sports Properties, LLC, is the multimedia rights holder for athletics at the University of Oklahoma. Sooner Sports Properties is a joint venture of Learfield Communications and Tyler Media (parent company of radio flagships KOKC and KRXO-FM).